The author begins by offering a brief history of the idea of the Antichrist and its origins in the apocalyptic thought in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and traces the eventual migration of the Antichrist legend across the Atlantic.

"Make[s] for lively reading. A book that makes familiar concepts disturbingly fresh and provocative."--The New York Times "Fascinating....An especially timely work."--Booklist "Clearly written and astute."--The Boston Sunday Globe "Professor Fuller's compulsively readable book documents the whole depressing history of this sad obsession, and shows us how easy it is for bad religion to drive out good."--Church Times "Fuller displays a fine grasp of te nuances of Christian theology and history....This is a veritable night-stand encyclopedia of religiously-inspired paranoiac fantasy."--James Aho, Idaho State University "From the Salem witch trials to the Evil Empire, from Cotton Mather to Pat Robertson, Fuller traces a succession of zealots ready to defend Christian civilization against evil incarnate."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review "Make[s] for lively reading. A book that makes familiar concepts disturbingly fresh and provocative."--The New York Times "A reliable guide not only to the religious past but to the nation's increasingly manic embrace of the Antichrist myth as the end of the millennium draws near."--John Corrigan, Professor and Chair, American Studies, Arizona State University West "An intelligent history of how Americans have tended to see the world as the battleground between absolute good and absolute evil....A fascinating and well-written account."--Kirkus Reviews "A valuable addition to a growing body of literature, that attempts to make cultural sense of a deep and seemingly irrational strain in modern American culture."--Peter Williams, Miami University, Professor of Religion "Fascinating and thoroughly documented....Given the growing political influence of conservative and fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. and the continued influence that naming the Anthchrist has on their politics, this is an especially timely work."--Booklist "Clearly written and astute...Fuller traces the tradition of thought and imagery that rose out of this recondite, sinister figure, and investigates the phenomenon as an expression of social and psychological anxiety in this country."--The Boston Sunday Globe "[Fuller] offers cogent psychological and sociological explanations for the hold of the idea of the antichrist upon the American imagination."--Publishers Weekly "A respected scholar...Fuller has produced a sober, carefully researched study of the American obsession with he Antichrist....Impressive."--Christian Century "Get the book. Read it. It is well written and documented. Should be serious fun--seriously! No doubt, you will be impressed how well we have played the [naming] game!"--Southwestern Journal of Theology

An intriguing, colorful history of the American obsession with the Antichrist Shows how Americans have been prone to demonize their enemies, from the earliest colonists to the modern fundamentalist movement Describes how the Antichrist has been seen in the guise of everyone from Anne Hutchinson and the witches of Salem, to masonry and the New Deal, to the National Council of Churches, feminism, and even supermarket barcodes

Robert C. Fuller is Professor of Religious Studies at Bradley University. His many books have focused on a wide range of topics, such as the cultural history of psychology, alternative medicine, and contemporary American religious thought.

An intriguing, colorful history of the American obsession with the Antichrist Shows how Americans have been prone to demonize their enemies, from the earliest colonists to the modern fundamentalist movement Describes how the Antichrist has been seen in the guise of everyone from Anne Hutchinson and the witches of Salem, to masonry and the New Deal, to the National Council of Churches, feminism, and even supermarket barcodes